


Tourist Trap

by Belsmomaus



Series: The Adventures of Hux and Ren - Kylux-Week 2016 [7]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: BAMF Hux, Bantering and Bickering, Friendship, Gen, Injured Hux, Injured Kylo, M/M, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Pre-Relationship, Protective Hux, Protective Kylo Ren, they are just too stubborn to admit just HOW much they care for each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-09-07 16:11:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8807464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Belsmomaus/pseuds/Belsmomaus
Summary: “They’re too many! We have to retreat!”Truer words had never been spoken. For once Kylo fully agreed with Hux, no questions asked as particle blasts hissed past them. And yet it was too late.“We’re surrounded.”(Kylux-Week 2016 - Day 6: Battle)





	

**Author's Note:**

> A while ago I wrote this post on tumblr:  
> "I really like the idea of Hux defending an injured Kylo with Kylo’s lightsaber. Standing above him and daring whoever wants to attack with the coldest fury possible in his eyes.  
> Can’t get it out of my head, to be honest. Why is this so damn hot?"
> 
> Then this prompt came along and I decided to write just that!

**Tourist Trap**

_**Kylux-Week 2016** _

**Day 6: Battle**

 

“They’re too many! We have to retreat!”

Truer words had never been spoken. For once Kylo fully agreed with Hux, no questions asked as particle blasts hissed past them. And yet it was too late. His reflexes jerked his right hand up while he turned back just as yet another beam of light was rendered harmless by the blade of his lightsaber. Only this shot had come from behind them.

A quick glance confirmed what he already knew. “We’re surrounded.”

Hux’ curse was drowned by the noise of his blaster as he fired yet another salve into the line of their attackers.

They came from both sides of the valley now and there was barely anything to use as cover. They were out in the open, right in the middle between two angry mobs of townspeople, a ledge and on the other side a long, gentle slope that would leave them even more exposed should they try to escape that way. He eyed their attackers. Without a doubt the magistrate’s men. Mercenaries. Ruthless and dangerous looking fellows that both Kylo and Hux would’ve laughed at under normal circumstances. But the circumstances weren’t normal.

They were alone and without backup. Their distress call, right before their ship had been critically hit and had plunged back down to the planet, had been for naught. They had still been too far inside the ionized atmosphere for the signal to have a chance of getting out. And where Hux had miraculously been unharmed by their crash landing, Kylo hadn’t been that lucky.

His head was pounding with all the noise around him, his vision graying every now and then at his sudden movements. Drying blood was itching on his face.

His lightsaber moved again, seemingly out of its own volition as he followed his instincts and let them deflect the deadly attacks. At least that still worked, but he wasn’t able to stop the blasts in midair as he usually did or keep their attackers locked in place. Or even push them back with a mighty shove of the Force. He’d tried, but the only thing he’d gotten had been a piercing pain beneath his skull.

He wasn’t keen on any more Force experiments. If he were alone, he’d try, but he wasn’t. And he wouldn’t take such risks with the general’s life at stake.

“Get over here, Ren!”

Hux had barricaded himself behind two rocks, barely thigh-high, that stood next to each other in front of the ledge that offered protection from behind. He was crouched down, his blaster at the ready, aiming and firing as if he’d never done anything else.

Kylo had never seen Hux firing a weapon before, let alone in the midst of a battle situation. He’d always imagined him to be out of place on the battlefield which was absolutely stupid now, in hindsight. Hux was a general, a brilliant strategic mind, yes, but a soldier nonetheless. Of course he was trained for combat and still it baffled Kylo a bit how at ease he looked with that blaster, killing with deadly precision.

He ducked underneath another shot and blocked two others while trying to get towards Hux and his easier defendable position. If those fucking bastards would just get closer he could cleave them in half, but at this distance…

That’s when he felt it.

Danger!

Something new. Something unexpected. Something…

There! Three villagers had crept up on the ledge, right behind Hux, their pistols pointing right at the general’s unprotected back. He saw their fingers twitch as if in slow motion. Saw the compressed particle beam burst free of the muzzle, burning its way through the air.

He didn’t think. There wasn’t time.

His left hand jerked up in a frantic and yet strangely controlled motion, the muscles of his fingers and arm straining as they fought against the explosion of pain in his head. He didn’t care. Not for one second. Not when he saw through a haze of dimming grey that Hux was pushed aside by the Force, his limbs flailing as he startled. The stones he’d used as cover exploded under the force of three simultaneous hits.

His head was on fire. Pain blinding him.

Then he was ripped of his feet.

His mind was reeling, too confused by the sudden change to make sense of what was happening. It was still too preoccupied with his relief that Hux was okay and with forcing the furious throbbing aside to get his senses back.

It took only a second of tumbling through the air to realize what had happened. The moment when agony tore his left side apart, burned through him, into him, he knew that saving Hux had left his own flank unprotected. A strangled cry ripped out of him. That hadn’t been a usual blaster. Nor a bowcaster.

Not that it mattered.

His impact caught him off guard. The ground pressing all air out of his lungs with a vengeance. His body tumbled, rolled, slid, then his head crashed against something solid.

Blinding white-hot pain split his skull.

_Hux!_

He needed to get up, needed to fight, to protect Hux.

But the brightness that engulfed his head spread out, paralyzed him. It didn’t matter how hard he willed his muscles to work, his arms and legs wouldn’t cooperate. Only his eyes blinked, sluggishly. He tried lifting his head instead, to check the situation. To check for Hux.

It was a mistake.

The moment he as much as tried moving his head the whole world lurched in a sickening motion. New pain exploded. His stomach flipped, the sour taste of acid spreading on his tongue.

His eyes shut tightly. Only iron willpower kept him from giving in to his body’s weakness.

He lay there. Panting. Swallowing. Unable to move. Fighting to stay conscious.

Useless.

There was shouting all around. Loud and harsh. And the high pitched whine of blaster fire. And explosions. Cracking rocks. Cries of pain.

It made him dizzy.

_Hux!_

_Protect Hux!_

His eyes blinked open again, the world swimming around him. Unstable and blurry. He reached out for the Force on instinct, needing its aid to make sure that Hux came out of this alive. Of course it didn’t work. His mental fingers slipped, unable to grasp anything while his vision grayed again at the new onslaught of pain. And his stomach turned anew.

Suddenly dark shadows filled his vision. He blinked, tried to focus while his whole body tensed. Well, the last remnants of his conscious mind tensed, his muscles on the other hand didn’t react at all. He just lay there, limp and unmoving as before. Helpless.

The shadows turned out to be boots. Heavy and dark. And way too close.

He needed to do something. To get up. Protect himself. Protect Hux. Protect the artifact. _FIGHT!_

His head flinched back on instinct – it was more like the idea of movement than an actual movement. And he wasn’t sure if he’d wanted to get a better look at what to expect or if he’d tried to get away from the threat. It wasn’t important anyway. The overwhelming dizziness and the pain were faster than he was. With a pathetic groan his eyes closed. Pressed tightly together against the wave of nausea that would’ve gotten the better of him if his stomach muscles would’ve been able to contract properly.

Everything seemed to move. Even though he knew that he was lying still.

Something hissed. Like a snake. Aggressive. Dangerous. Too close.

A dull glow filled his closed lids, almost distracted him from more shouting.

More movement. Grunts. Everything blurring together, until-

A cry.

Pained. Hurt.

Close.

Familiar.

Hux.

_Hux!_

The world gave one final tilt and blackness swallowed him whole.

 

* * *

 

_Earlier…_

 

“They used it as a tourist attraction!”

He still couldn’t believe it. An ancient Force-artifact, abused, degraded. It was a mockery – an _affront_ – and he was still pissed that he hadn’t gotten the chance to burn that insolent grin off of the magistrate’s face with his lightsaber.

“More like a tourist trap,” Hux mused, keeping pace with him easily. “You’ve got to hand it to him, though, it’s quite clever to use the figurine’s glowing near Force-sensitive people as some kind of oracle to predict who’s going to find a berubian vein. He gets desperate people to pay a lot of money to stand close to a small statue and if it glows they stay and start digging waiting to find their jackpot. And if it doesn’t they’ll stay anyway and start digging, desperate for some quick money. And all the while he profits double.”

Kylo snorted. “If you’re so impressed why don’t you go back and trade a few strategies or something?” He really didn’t care for that low-life and how he bled those tourists dry. But he _did_ care about a sacred artifact being abused as some conman’s lightshow-oracle.

“Heaven forbid, in the end that ugly nerf actually _learns_ something from that!”

Kylo blinked, thrown off-guard for a second by Hux’ joke. Sarcastic and dry, but a joke nonetheless. He still wasn’t used to this.

This strange new thing that had developed between them ever since Starkiller base. A kind of… camaraderie? Friendship? It was strange and not at all what he would’ve expected and yet somehow their joined failures had left them both too resigned back then to argue. If only for a short while. It had been enough to get a glimpse behind the other’s walls. To their mutual surprise they’d found a kindred spirit there which had led to a strange and awkward kind of understanding. Maybe even more. He couldn’t define it, really.

Maybe because he shied away from it whenever it got too real. They both did.

Hux suddenly turned next to him and squinted at the sun, hovering big and bright just above the horizon. “I knew the nights were short here at this season but _this_ short? Let’s hurry up. I want to get off this rock as soon as possible!”

The ginger’s pace sped up and Kylo followed suit, just as eager to leave this place.

 “I told you.” He couldn’t help it. Riling up Hux was far too enjoyable – and more familiar territory. “You should’ve just let me kill that asshole and grab the figurine right then and there instead of all this waiting and sneaking around during the night and stealing stuff like common criminals.”

Hux groaned. “We’ve been over this, Ren. Half the town works for that guy. We would’ve had a mob at our hands. A heavily armed mob. And no back-up. No means of communication. And a ship hidden a good way out of town. Not even you…” The General broke off and stopped abruptly, a frown of deep concentration on his face.

Kylo heard it too. And saw it first.

“Run!”

Within seconds they were sprinting across the dull, red dust of the rocky valley, their shuttle hidden behind the rock formation to their left, maybe 200 yards away. No less than 7 small ships, all different types, sped right towards them from the direction of the town.

“This is all your fault!” he grunted, his frustration and anger pushing him back into old habits.

“ _You_ were the one who landed the ship practically on the other side of the damn planet!” Hux barked back.

“But _you_ didn’t check how short the nights really are. And now they’re on our trails way too early!”

A quick glance over his shoulder told him that they were closing fast. Soon they’d be in range to fire. They headed around the rock and he reached out his arm towards their ship, pushing the Force where he wanted it to. The landing ramp opened without delay.

“They’re too many,” he panted as he headed for the ship. “You take the helm, I’ll get rid of those scumbags.” Usually he piloted their ship but if he wanted to effectively wield the Force in a fight with other spacecrafts – and he’d need to against so many of them – he needed to concentrate.

They ran up the ramp, side-by-side, and Hux punched the control to close it again when he grabbed for Kylo’s arm and practically stopped him dead in his tracks, his face deadly serious. “You’ll want a better pilot than me in this nightmare of an atmosphere.”

He remembered the unpredictable ion storms, the electrical discharges and incredible particle density in the higher layers, all of which prevented them from communicating with the Finalizer.

Shit! So it was either staying low and destroying all seven ships before the others managed to place a good hit – hoping that not more ships would follow – or…

“Then we’ll have to outrun them!” He pushed Hux towards the other chair and plopped down hard on the pilot’s seat himself. They only needed to get out of the atmosphere to reach the Finalizer and call for back-up. “Just… use everything we got and keep them at arm’s length for as long as you can!”

 

* * *

 

_Later again…_

 

Hux’ shot hissed past his target’s head, going astray as something pushed into his side. Hard. His knees scraped over the rough ground and his elbow shot up on instinct to knock off his attacker. The movement unbalanced him even further as there was no attacker.

_Ren!_

The realization of what had happened hit him the same moment as the stones to his left that he’d used for cover exploded under concentrated fire from above. He didn’t hesitate, instead used his momentum from the Force-push and threw himself on his back, yanking his blaster up and watched the three mercenaries die as three rapid fire shots burned away their skulls.

Breathing heavily he sat up, his gaze quickly scanning the rows of enemies that barred their escape on both sides of the shallow valley. A loud scream tore his eyes back around only to see Ren propelled through the air, his dark robe scorched at his side. He hit the ground hard, flipped and rolled through the reddish dust until he finally stopped right next to a barely knee-high rock.

He didn’t get up again.

Didn’t move at all.

_SHIT!_

His heart was pounding in the confines of his chest, pumping blood and adrenaline and rage through every crevice of his body. He had enough of these people. Of this shithole of a planet. Of this damn mission. Of asshats shooting at him.

Of seeing Ren lying motionless on the ground. Again. Just without the snow this time.

He rolled up into a crouching position, searched the group the shot had came from with his eyes. The moment he spotted the assault rifle – the only one of their weapons powerful enough to rip a person off their feet – his blaster spit its deadly fire. Right into the man’s face.

He forced the whole bunch to cover as he fired energy bolt after energy bolt into their direction, taking two more with him. Then he ran, crouched down to present a less easy target and fired at his attackers that came from the other side. Heat sizzled past close to his arm and his back as he dodged some shots before he slid down to the ground next to Ren and the rock.

He ducked down as the guys from the other side recovered and fired again. At least their fire was concentrated on him, not Ren. They had checked the fallen man off their list already.

Hux’ gaze flicked towards the unmoving man, covered in dust. That’s when he saw the blood, sluggishly staining the dirt beneath the mess of black hair. Ren’s momentum hadn’t just stopped at the rock. The _rock_ had stopped his momentum.

Something cold and unforgiving clenched around Hux’ insides.

He had to know. Leaned closer instead of holding their enemies off. And spotted dark-brown eyes, blinking. Dazed and probably unseeing, but alive.

His relief – well, his whole concern for Ren – still came as a bit of a surprise. This whole shift in their relationship still too new. Unfamiliar and untested.

But that was something to contemplate when they were back on the Finalizer.

 _If_ they managed to get out of this mess in one piece. Or at all.

Hux pulled the blaster down and shot a few times from his meager cover before he dared lifting his head again to aim properly. They’d edged closer in the few moments he’d let himself get distracted. Their shouting had changed. He’d blended it out earlier to concentrate, but now he realized that instead of coaxing them to give up, predicting their painful deaths or simply insulting them they now shouted at each other. Organizing their attack.

There were five on his left side and around thirteen on his right.

He needed to take out the left ones first. And fast. He wouldn’t stand a chance fighting these odds while fighting on two sides.

The blaster poised on the rock to keep it steady he fired a quick succession of blasts, taking out two of those bastards. He saw it coming out of the corner of his eyes. Burning red and fast. He threw himself down. He wasn’t fast enough. The smell of burnt hair filled his nostrils and his fingers hurt from where the blaster had been forcefully ripped from him.

Almost flat on the ground he panted into the dust, ripping the singed glove from his right hand. His flesh was red and it _hurt_ but he forced his fingers into a fist before he stretched them. He could move them. Good, nothing broken, just burnt.

But now he had no weapon.

Nothing to…

His eyes fell on the black hilt of Ren’s lightsaber, lying discarded only inches from his limp hand.

A melee weapon against a barrage of ranged weapons.

One man against almost 20.

He didn’t hesitate for a second. If he was going to die here, then he’d die fighting! And protecting his… friend?

Hux grabbed it, rolled up to his feet while activating it and planted himself right in front of Ren. The weapon weighed heavier in his grasp then he would’ve imagined. The furious red of its glow fell on everything around him and its hateful, vengeful hisses didn’t feel instable – as he’d taunted Ren many times in the past – instead they felt vigorous. Electric. Empowering.

Although he had no idea how to properly use it.

He tried to recall his fencing lessons from a lifetime ago – he’d never been any good at it.

Their surprise at seeing him taking up the lightsaber didn’t take long and the first blasts shot his way before he had the chance to recall anything useful.

He ducked under the first blast and swung the saber into the air towards a second one, hoping to somehow catch it before it hit his side.

It worked.

The blast sizzled against the glowing blade, its energy rendered harmless. Hux could only stare and gasp for a second.

More blasts came his way, left him no time to think, only to act. Without any finesse he swiveled the crackling blade through the air, feeling clumsy and yet he managed to deflect another energy blast. And another one. He ducked and turned, spinning the saber this way and that, getting more confident with every blast he rendered harmless.

His breathing became more and more wrecked from the unusual exertion mixed with the adrenaline and his increasing concern for Ren. He still hadn’t moved an inch. Or complained. He should’ve complained the moment Hux had taken his sacred weapon, but the black heap behind him stayed eerily silent.

Again he ripped the weapon higher, catching yet another red blast just before it could burn away his face. Heat sizzled around the blade, wafting into his face nonetheless, and yet, he wasn’t hurt.

Wasn’t dead.

And not for the first time he wondered if somehow the Force was guiding his hands because… part of him couldn’t understand how it was possible that he was still standing.

Right on cue a searing pain ripped through his leg, leaving his whole right thigh on fire. A hoarse cry was torn from his lips and he sagged, fell to his knees. Biting down on his lip, hard, and with his left hand balled into a fist he powered right through the pain. Forced his right foot back on the ground and pushed himself upright again. His whole leg was throbbing, burning, but he wasn’t done yet. He wasn’t ready to give up so easily.

He growled at his attackers, unsure if it were actual words or just some animalistic roar of anger. With his chest heaving he swung the lightsaber again, deflecting their shots.

They’d moved even closer in the meantime. Only around ten yards were separating him from them. And they stayed there. Knowing that Hux couldn’t harm them from this distance. Their fire ebbed off a bit, just enough that his heavy panting could be heard loud and clearly.

A rough, grating noise gave them away. A boot slipping on gravel. He spun around to find two idiots who’d tried to sneak up behind him. Hux never gave them a chance to properly grab their weapons. Instead he swung the glowing blade down in an arch, using the whole range of the weapon to his advantage. The hissing energy cut through their flesh with ease, barely any resistance at all.

He began to understand why Ren liked this weapon so much.

To his chagrin there was no time relishing in their surprised and absolutely shocked expressions. Their attack might have failed but their distraction hadn’t. The moment he turned back it was already too late. Another shot hit him. Only a bit higher than the first one, burning away the side of his hip.

This time he didn’t get up when he crashed to the ground. His whole side screamed in agony and all the willpower in the world wouldn’t get him up again.

The leader of the mercenaries had the audacity to laugh.

No one laughed at him!

“Come here and finish it, then!” Hux shouted, his voice rough and just as powerful as always. He spotted something dark right next to Ren’s legs. “Let’s see how long that laugh will last.”

He pushed himself up into a half-sitting, half-kneeling position right in front of Ren. His left hand reaching out towards Ren’s legs to stabilize him and to discretely slide the object over, then pulled back slowly as he found his balance. The lightsaber was still in his hand, although it was trembling. From exhaustion. From pain.

He didn’t try to mask it, let them see that he was at the end of his rope, but _not_ willing to give up.

Hux knew he would die here. But he would take as many of these asshats with him as possible.

When the mercenary laughed even harder and more derisively in an attempt to cover his anger at Hux’ challenge and his own unwillingness – or fear – of accepting it, Hux pulled the small black blaster pistol up. One of his former attackers that he’d cleaved in half had dropped it, much to his advantage.

Even though he fired with his left hand the shot hit its surprised target right in the chest and now it was indeed Hux who was laughing.

He shot again, as long as he’d had surprise on his side. He managed to take two more out before they all had their weapons back in their hands and started firing again.

He ducked down, rising the lightsaber in his only defense and cursed it all to hell. Dying by a firing squad from mercenaries, protecting Ren who was probably already dead and a Force-artifact of all things didn’t come even close to the many possible ways he’d imagined his own death.

“ _Cease your fire!_ ” The powerful voice boomed through the valley.

His heart missed a beat, too stunned, too disbelieving to keep up its hasty rhythm. White figures lined the slopes that confined the valley. Glorious, ordered, armed white figures, led by one bigger one clad all in chrome, gleaming in the sunlight.

Their distress call must have gone through after all.

The mercenaries startled, their unease and fear for everyone to see in their restless, uncertain movements. One of them thought himself brave, or he was just plain stupid – or frightened shitless – nevertheless, he made the mistake and took a shot at Phasma.

Screams filled the air as the troopers opened fire. It took less than a minute until it got deathly silent. A minute that Hux watched, never daring to let his guard down. The saber still trembling in his hand, the pistol still raised, ready for anyone who’d stumble their way.

No one did.

The dust settled and Phasma and her troopers filed down into the valley.

And Hux finally let the weapons fall from his hands. He didn’t care about deactivating the lightsaber, not when his relief – his total disbelief that he wasn’t dead – nearly paralyzed his exhausted muscles. Not when the agony in his right side finally got the upper hand and forced a hoarse groan out of him.

_Ren!_

He leaned back and fell to the ground when his arm collapsed under him. The movement jostled his side and leg and he cried out in pain. He needed a moment to get his desperate gasping under control again before he clenched his teeth and turned onto his side to face the fallen man next to him.

Ren’s face, left side covered in dried blood, was ashen, even the usually red scar.

Ashen or covered in dust. Or both.

His eyes were closed. Small dust particles beneath his downturned face moved slowly. He was breathing. Just to be sure – to be _really_ sure – Hux reached out with his right hand, still trembling, and held it beneath Ren’s nose. It hurt. The soft movement of air against the burnt, angry red flesh of his hand. But he wouldn’t miss that pain for anything.

He felt himself smiling as his vision darkened and his head sank down onto something soft.

 

* * *

 

A moment later Phasma and four of her troopers reached the two fallen men and found them unconscious and heavily injured. Immediately she barked out instructions for their retrieval to their ship and to organize immediate medical attention once they’d get on board. The troopers obeyed without hesitation.

Neither Phasma nor her men ever spoke about the warm smile on the general’s face when they’d found him. Or that his head was bedded on Kylo Ren’s arm, his burnt hand in between them in the gesture of a gentle caress.

**Author's Note:**

> Berubian is a precious mineral in the Star Wars universe (if you wondered).
> 
> I hope I did the prompt justice. I've never written a fight scene of this magnitude or length before...
> 
> As always: feel free to share your thoughts :D


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